Coffee Appreciation

the little rubber bung on the cap seems like it should be a teeny little bit larger to jam in and properly seal the hole.

my sigg hot & cold leaks very easily

Really?
Do you have one of of those one-hand-operatable ones, or the standard screw-lid?

this one.

there's a mm or so play in the catch mechanism when the whole thing is locked up which is enough to lose the seal on the bung if it's not stored upright i think.

Sigg bottles can be very picky about how well you do them up. Its so easy to cross thread Sigg bottles, causing it to leak everywhere despite appearing to be sealed properly.

You must be having a faulty cap or talking about a different type of bottle.
I just made an effort to cross thread the cap of my hot & cold bottle on purpose for a minute and wasn't able to.
The one I have is really super easy to screw tight and seals 100% even if tossed around in a rucksack for hours.

this one.

Ah, I thought so.

Almost got one of these (as they come in a lot of nice colours, my favourite one being black, and they look very nice design-wise), so glad I opted for the regular no-nonsense screw cap.

You can get them as a spare part for a fiver.

^ Yarp. Screw-top for me - I decided the top loop is a must to secure it on one of my rucksacks.

I'm really not getting on with the bottomless portafilter I got to replace my broken standard one for my Gaggia Classic.

Does anyone want to have a go with it and swap for a standard one?

Why not? Might be an indicator of a problem with your grind / tamp.

It sprays all over the place. Crema is thinner than my old portafilter.

I think the old PF was much more forgiving.

I have a bog standard (burr) Duality grinder that is nothing fancy. It worked fine with my old setup.

My pucks also now come out like sludge, if that is of any diagnostic use?

Spray probably means channeling, there's a good chance it was also happening with your old portafilter but it simply wasn't visible. This gives you some help in diagnosing:

https://ineedcoffee.com/the-naked-portafilter/

And here you can read on avoiding channeling:

https://www.mycuppa.com.au/how-i-solved-my-irritating-coffee-channelling-problem

So, the problem could be related to the basket?

Mine has holes that go right to the edge.

It is also very deep, much deeper than my old ones. Come to think if it, I might have the old baskets. I'll look.

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I think I stupidly chucked out the double shot basket with the broken PF.

I have the single shot one and will give it a go.

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Just pulled a single shot.

Still sprayed, but not as much. Puck shows channels, I think.

Espresso produced was very bitter.

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I still have my original gaggia portafilter with spout & stock basket knocking around, both barely used if you fancy a swap?

was thinking just this morning how i wouldn't mind a second bottomless pf to speed up process of making two coffees at once for me and the gf

I don't get out & about much as I work from home down in morden but I'll be drinking in borough after work tomorrow if your commute passes by that way.

That sounds good.

I've now gone down a bit of a cleaning rabbit hole:

I tried to do a back flush and that forced the internal hose to come off the overflow spigot. Disassembled the machine and fixed it up.

Then I ran some water straight through the shower screen and realised that I am getting sideways spray from that, probably due to scale build up.

Next step: back flush. Then probably disassemble and thoroughly clean. I might replace the screen.

If all that fails, I'll get back to you about a swap!

cool , offer is there but is probably better if you can get to the bottom of the issue.

I found fitting a better shower screen and ensuring i was getting an even distribution of water helped loads in sorting out the channeling issues.

I use this one...

https://www.theespressoshop.co.uk/en/GB/IMS-Gaggia-Precision-Shower-Screen-%C3%B8-55mm---GA200IM/m-2010.aspx?PartnerID=22&utm_source=google&utm_medium=shopping&utm_campaign=UnitedKingdom&gclid=EAIaIQobChMI94vk-8j03gIVohx9Ch1ObgGPEAQYAiABEgLlKPD_BwE

edit: changing the grouphead gasket might be a good shout as well if it's not been done in ages.

Wow.

Total fail.

Coffee everywhere except in my cup.

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probably better if you can get to the bottom of the issue.

Agreed.

I've ordered that shower screen as I have always felt that mine is a bit knackered.

Simple solution = bigger cup.

And a new classic double basket.

What I am not in the market for is a grinder upgrade. That may be the sticking point.

Did you run pressurised baskets before, if it's spraying everywhere it may mean that there isn't enough back pressure from the coffee grinds to slow it down. Either heavier on the Tamping or a finer grind should help.

This is a good resource, should help.

https://www.fivesenses.com.au/blog/espresso-shot-troubleshooting/

I've got a Sage Smart Grinder Pro which you can have for £90 if you change your mind

Whispers ... go for the grinder @mashton....

What is a pressurised basket?

Before I was using a standard Gaggia Classic PF and basket.

I can't actually recall if it had one or two spouts.

The handle snapped off it, hence the switch to bottomless.